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| Volume 3, Issue 1 |
Membership Update
Doesn’t everyone have a saying? You know what I mean, some quirky sage advice shared by an elder or borrowed from literature. Statements like “a penny saved is a penny earned;” or “its not whether you win or lose but instead how you play the game;” or “what you see is what you get.” There are thousands of these expressions, and each has meaning to everyone that uses them. Unfortunately, when these expressions go unexplained the meaning is often lost on others, those that hear them.
I bring this up because I am guilty of spitting out many sayings without providing sufficient background detail. One uttering in particular that I use often is, “the Chamber is a journey, not a destination.” We certainly have many members that practice this belief. You can meet them just about any month at the Business After Five or during their Business Alliance Meetings. Folks like Mari Perez, Vicki Droz, Steve Connolly, Genie Short, Steve Heroux, Douglas Gray, Ken Juen, Adrienne Moch and Chuck Heightland. Of course there are many others who could just as easily be mentioned and whose involvement is equally as appreciated. Each of these valued members works with a plan and thus experiences success at Chamber events.
Are you wondering why membership is a journey? Building meaningful network relationships take time. Attending Chamber events is all about starting, nurturing and reinforcing relationships. Attending one event with no intention of returning is a waste of time, because networkers are all about the big picture. A chance meeting is far too short and random to make a long-term decision. Therefore, those who treat Chamber events as a destination are operating with a false belief and make a tragic error. Prospecting at a networking event is highly frowned upon. During an event, networkers are acutely aware that someone is always watching and therefore will always be gracious with every person they meet. For this reason prospectors (destination minded attendees) will always collect scores of business cards. However, no amount of follow-up will net results because these individuals sought to take instead of give.
Belonging to the Chamber as a member is a commitment to self and others. Building relationships is the most empowering way to experience success because you are not going it alone. Remember the saying that, “Behind every good man is a good woman.” This is a rather old saying, so I take poetic license to bring it into the 21st century for our purpose: “Behind every good networker is relationships with like minded people.”
I hope to see you again soon.
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